Worshiping Expectantly

Remembering to Flourish is a call to action to live a life aware of the need to be intentional about finding fulfillment in our lives. It is also a set of practices to help us engage in behaviors and attitudes that facilitate flourishing. I have identified twelve practices for flourishing. Here I will introduce the eighth practice to remember.

Recall: (Practice) Worshiping Expectantly

Recharge: (Devotion) There is a song by Donald Lawrence called, When the Saints Go to Worship, that I believe captures the essence of what I mean by worshipping expectantly.  To worship is to show adoration and reverence for a deity. As a believer, when I go to church on Sunday mornings, I am going to worship God – to show reverence and to adore my Creator, my King, my Redeemer, and my Shepard. I am going to show reverence and adore the God of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar, the God of Jocob and Rachel and Leah, and the God of Mallie and Charles and Luke (my mother, father, and step-father). I love to be in the company of saints worshiping together.

The song by Donald Lawrence ends with these words. “We welcome you in (you are welcome)/ You're the king and you're invited to come in to this sanctuary.” To me this is a reminder to be careful not to allow my attendance to Sunday services to become just another thing to do. I need to welcome the King of King into the sanctuary (the building) and my sanctuary (my heart).  In Isaiah 29:13 we find these words, “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Here, too, I find a caution to do more than just show up to church because it’s a good thing to do. No, I need to come worship with my whole heart, I need to come with great expectations because I serve a great God who deserves the adoration, the praise, and the glory. As another song proclaims, my hallelujahs belong to God!

Reflect: Journal Prompt) What does worshipping God look like for you Monday through Friday? In what ways does your worship look like Isaiah 29:13?  

Rehearse: (Affirmation) I expect to connect with God today. In worship, I offer God whole my heart. 

Refill: (Prayer) Oh LORD, my LORD, I am sorry for the times my worship has looked more like habit and less like an offering of my heart. Forgive me. Please bring me into your presence again so that I may behold the beauty of your holiness. In Jesus’s name, Amen.